More Fun with Pete the Bear (a Free Pattern)

This weekend I pulled out the buckets of quilting cotton scraps and spent a fun few hours sewing some new Pete the Bears. Pete is a free pattern (download it right here) and is the perfect little canvas for playing with fun color combinations, trim, and buttons.

My original Pete was sewn from wool scraps and had a heart-shaped applique, but he can really be sewn from any sort of fabric and embellished in any sort of way.

This is the kind of thing I sew when I just want to play and have fun in the sewing room. Hooray for Pete!

I love your cute bear! I teach a sewing class for ages 9 and up and this would be a great project for us. I have a question, on the bright colored ones you made here, did you cut the head piece separate from the body and then sew those 2 fabrics together?

Yes, that’s exactly what I did. You can piece the head to the body, then sew the bear as usual. This allows for more interest and more pretty fabrics to be used. Also, you could add different felt shapes as applique or even a pocket. Try longer ears and a pompom tail and make a bunny! So many good possibilities.

Thank you so much for answering! Can’t wait to share Pete the Bear with my class! Know they will love him! I love all the ways they can make it their own. Will be exciting to see each kid get creative and put their own twist on it!